TIDMAAZ
RNS Number : 8399P
Anglo Asian Mining PLC
15 October 2019
Anglo Asian Mining plc / Ticker: AAZ / Index: AIM / Sector:
Mining
15 October 2019
Anglo Asian Mining plc
Q3 2019 Production and Operations review
Total production for YTD Q3 2019 of 60,122 GEOs and net cash of
19.1 million
Anglo Asian Mining plc ("Anglo Asian" or the "Company"), the AIM
listed gold, copper and silver producer focused in Azerbaijan, is
pleased to provide a production, sales and operations review for
its Gedabek gold, copper and silver mining and production contract
area ("Gedabek") in western Azerbaijan for the three and nine
months to 30 September 2019 ("Q3 2019" and "YTD Q3 2019"
respectively).
Note that all references to "$" are to United States
dollars.
Overview
-- Continued improvement in 2019 production expressed as gold
equivalent ounces ("GEOs") with a three per cent.
quarter-on-quarter increase to 20,227 GEOs (Q2 2019: 19,618
GEOs)
-- YTD Q3 2019 total production of 60,122 GEOs (YTD Q3 2018: 61,761 GEOs)
-- Strong cash generation with $8.5 million generated in the quarter (H1 2019: $9.3 million)
o Cash generation in YTD Q3 2019 of $17.6 million
o $19.1 million net cash at 30 September 2019 ($15.2 million at
30 June 2019)
-- Significant increase in average price of gold bullion sold in
Q3 2019 to $1,513 per ounce (H1 2019: $1,319 per ounce)
-- Full Year 2019 ("FY 2019") Production guidance maintained at
lower end of 82,000 to 86,000 GEOs
-- As announced on 18 September 2019, an interim dividend of
US$0.035 per share will be paid gross in respect of the year ending
31 December 2019 to shareholders on 31 October 2019
Anglo Asian CEO Reza Vaziri commented: "We are delighted to
report another successful quarter for the Company with production
increasing compared to the previous quarter and strong cash
generation helped by the recent increase in the gold price.
Production guidance is maintained at the lower end of 82,000 to
86,000 gold equivalent ounces due to the decrease in copper price
in relation to the increase in gold price since the start of
2019."
Production Overview
Q3 2019
-- Total production of 20,227 GEOs (Q3 2018: 24,412 ounces)
-- Gold production of 17,804 ounces (Q3 2018: 21,318 ounces):
o 16,626 ounces contained within gold doré
o 10 ounces from SART processing
o 1,168 ounces from flotation
-- Copper production totalled 521 tonnes (Q3 2018: 470 tonnes):
o 71 tonnes from sulfidisation, acidification, recycling and
thickening ("SART") processing
o 450 tonnes from flotation processing
-- Silver production totalled 33,354 ounces (Q3 2018: 59,346 ounces):
o 4,423 ounces contained within gold doré
o 11,789 ounces from SART processing
o 17,142 ounces from flotation
YTD Q3 2019
-- Total production of 60,122 GEOs (YTD Q3 2018: 61,761 GEOs)
-- Gold production of 52,198 ounces (YTD Q3 2018: 54,573 ounces)
-- Copper production totalled 1,478 tonnes (YTD Q3 2018: 1,057 tonnes)
-- Silver production totalled 117,708 ounces (YTD Q3 2018: 144,362 ounces)
-- Forecast production for FY 2019 at the lower end of 82,000 to 86,000 GEOs
Sales
-- Q3 2019 gold bullion sales of 14,894 ounces at an average of
$1,513 per ounce (Q2 2019 gold bullion sales of 13,467 ounces at an
average of $1,332 per ounce)
-- Q3 2019 copper concentrate shipments to the customer totalled
2,255 dry metric tonnes ("dmt") with a sales value of $3.4 million
(excluding Government of Azerbaijan profit share) (Q2 2019: 4,007
dmt with a sales value of $6.7 million)
Company financials
-- Net cash, being cash and cash equivalents less
interest-bearing loans and borrowings, totalled $19.1 million at 30
September 2019 (Net cash of $15.2 million at 30 June 2019)
-- Cash generation before payment of final dividend for 2018 in
Q3 2019 of $8.5 million with $17.6 million generated YTD Q3
2019
Gedabek - mining, production and sales
The Company mined the following ore in the nine months to 30
September 2019:
6 months to 3 months to 9 months to
30 June 2019* 30 September 2019 30 September 2019
Average Average Average
Mine Ore mined gold grade Ore mined gold grade Ore mined gold grade
(tonnes) (g/t) (tonnes) (g/t) (tonnes) (g/t)
---------- ------------ ---------- ------------ ---------- ------------
Open pit 817,649 0.72 323,008 0.71 1,140,657 0.72
Ugur - o/pit 568,993 1.53 337,506 1.05 906,499 1.35
Gadir - u/g 89,927 2.70 37,101 2.96 127,028 2.78
Gosha - u/g - - - - - -
---------- ------------ ---------- ------------ ---------- ------------
Total 1,476,569 1.15 697,615 1.00 2,174,184 1.10
============== ========== ============ ========== ============ ========== ============
* There have been some minor changes to the previously reported
figures following reconciliation of ore stockpiles.
As previously reported, low grade ore (less than 1.5 grammes per
tonne of gold) is being treated by heap leaching, whilst higher
grade ore (more than 1.5 grammes per tonne of gold) is being
processed through the agitation leaching plant.
Anglo Asian stacked 148,269 tonnes of dry crushed ore onto heap
leach pads with an average gold content of 0.93 grammes per tonne
during Q3 2019 (Q2 2019: 152,173 tonnes with an average gold
content of 0.90 grammes per tonne). The Company also heap leached
uncrushed Run of Mine ("ROM") ore. During Q3 2019, Anglo Asian
stacked 261,414 tonnes of ROM ore onto heap leach pads with an
average gold content of 0.46 grammes per tonne (Q2 2019: 286,163
tonnes with an average gold content of 0.49 grammes per tonne).
The Company processed 192,097 dry tonnes of ore with an average
gold content of 2.25 grammes per tonne through the agitation
leaching plant during Q3 2019 (Q2 2019: 176,602 dry tonnes with an
average gold content of 2.4 grammes per tonne). 127,762 dry tonnes
of ore containing an average copper content of 0.55 per cent. was
processed by the flotation plant in Q3 2019 (Q2 2019: 131,161 dry
tonnes of ore containing an average copper content of 0.47 per
cent.).
During Q3 2019, the Company produced gold doré containing 16,626
ounces of gold and 4,423 ounces of silver at Gedabek (Q2 2018:
16,073 ounces of gold and 4,773 ounces of silver). During Q3 2019,
the agitation leaching plant produced 12,836 and 3,369 ounces of
gold and silver, respectively, and the heap leach operations
produced 3,790 and 1,054 ounces of gold and silver,
respectively.
SART processing in Q3 2019 produced 154 dmt of copper
concentrate containing 71 tonnes of copper and 10 ounces of gold
(Q2 2019: 143 dmt of copper concentrate containing 67 tonnes of
copper and 8 ounces of gold). YTD Q3 2019 SART copper production
was 195 tonnes compared to YTD Q3 2018 production of 332
tonnes.
Flotation processing in Q3 2019 produced 2,793 dmt of copper
concentrate containing 450 tonnes of copper, 1,168 ounces of gold
and 17,142 ounces of silver (Q2 2019: 2,252 dmt of copper
concentrate containing 383 tonnes of copper, 1,068 ounces of gold
and 15,491 ounces of silver).
The following table summarises gold doré production and sales at
Gedabek for FY 2018 and Q1 to Q3 2019:
Gold produced* Silver Gold sales** Gold Sales
(ounces) Produced* (ounces) price
(ounces) ($/ounce)
Quarter ended
31 March 2018 15,750 7,110 14,956 1,328
30 June 2018 15,537 6,014 10,822 1,307
H1 2018 31,287 13,124 25,778 1,319
30 Sept 2018 18,885 7,416 18,637 1,216
31 Dec 2018 15,444 5,646 15,066 1,231
H2 2018 34,329 13,062 33,703 1,223
FY 2018 65,616 26,186 59,481 1,265
31 March 2019 15,547 6,634 13,121 1,306
30 June 2019 16,073 4,773 13,467 1,332
H1 2019 31,620 11,407 26,588 1,319
30 September 2019 16,626 4,423 14,894 1,513
-------------------- -------------- ----------- ------------- ----------
Note that some of the figures in the above table may differ from
previously reported due to agreement of final assay.
* including Government of Azerbaijan's share
** excludes Government of Azerbaijan's share
The following table summarises copper concentrate production
from both the Company's SART and flotation plants at Gedabek for FY
2018 and Q1 to Q3 2019:
Concentrate Copper Gold Silver
production* content* content* content*
2018 (dmt) (tonnes) (ounces) (ounces)
Quarter ended 31 March
SART processing 223 114 6 22,118
Flotation 819 141 735 11,587
Total 1,042 255 741 33,705
Quarter ended 30 June
SART processing 260 137 6 21,800
Flotation 1,136 195 1,226 16,387
Total 1,396 332 1,232 38,187
Quarter ended 30 Sept
SART processing 162 81 7 17,357
Flotation 2,501 389 2,437 34,573
Total 2,663 470 2,444 51,930
Quarter ended 31 December
SART processing 109 67 13 14,229
Flotation 3,557 521 2,752 45,947
Total 3,666 588 2,765 60,176
2019
Quarter ended 31 March
SART processing 142 60 11 16,201
Flotation 2,871 450 1,687 28,461
Total 3,013 510 1,698 44,662
Quarter ended 30 June
SART processing 143 64 8 12,794
Flotation 2,252 383 1,068 15,491
Total 2,395 447 1,076 28,285
Quarter ended 30 September
SART processing 154 71 10 11,789
Flotation 2,793 450 1,168 17,142
Total 2,947 521 1,178 28,931
---------------------------- ------------ --------- --------- ---------
* including Government of Azerbaijan's share.
Certain amounts for SART and flotation production may different
to those previously disclosed due to final reconciliation of
production.
The following table summarises total copper concentrate
production and sales at Gedabek for FY 2018 and Q1 to Q3 2019. Note
that sales of concentrates are initially recorded at provisional
amounts until agreement of final assay:
Concentrate Copper Gold Silver Concentrate Concentrate
production* content* content* content* sales** sales**
(dmt) (tonnes) (ounces) (ounces) (dmt) ($000)
Quarter ended
31 March 2018 1,042 255 741 33,705 608 1,715
30 June 2018 1,396 332 1,232 38,187 1,736 4,221
H1 2018 2,438 587 1,973 71,892 2,344 5,936
30 Sept 2018 2,663 470 2,444 51,930 1,557 3,368
31 Dec 2018 3,666 588 2,765 60,176 3,774 6,131
H2 2018 6,329 1,058 5,209 112,106 5,331 9,499
FY 2018 8,767 1,645 7,182 183,998 7,675 15,435
31 March 2019 3,013 510 1,698 44,662 279 718
30 June 2019 2,395 447 1,076 28,285 4,007 6,713
H1 2019 5,408 957 2,774 72,947 4,286 7,431
30 Sept 2019 2,946 521 1,178 28,931 2,255 3,438
---------------- ------------ --------- --------- --------- ------------- --------------
.
* including Government of Azerbaijan's share
** excludes Government of Azerbaijan's share
Net cash
The Company had net cash at 30 September 2019 of $19.1 million,
an increase in cash of $3.9 million from net cash of $15.2 million
at 30 June 2019 as follows:
$m
Cash at bank and on hand 22.5
Pasha Bank refinancing loan (3.4)
-----
Net cash 19.1
-----
In Q3 2019, the Company paid the final dividend for 2018 of $4.6
million and corporation tax of $2.5 million.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have
been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this
announcement.
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.angloasianmining.com or
contact:
Reza Vaziri Anglo Asian Mining plc Tel: +994 12 596 3350
Bill Morgan Anglo Asian Mining plc Tel: +994 502 910 400
------------------------------ ----------------------
Stephen Westhead Anglo Asian Mining plc Tel: +994 502 916 894
------------------------------ ----------------------
Ewan Leggat SP Angel Corporate Finance Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470
LLP 0470
Nominated Adviser and Broker
------------------------------ ----------------------
Soltan Tagiev SP Angel Corporate Finance Tel + 44 (0) 20 3470
LLP 0470
------------------------------ ----------------------
Camilla Horsfall Blytheweigh Financial Tel: +44 (0) 20 7138
3224
------------------------------ ----------------------
Megan Ray Blytheweigh Financial Tel: +44 (0) 20 7138
3224
------------------------------ ----------------------
Notes:
Anglo Asian Mining plc (AIM:AAZ) is a gold, copper and silver
producer in Central Asia with a broad portfolio of production and
exploration assets in Azerbaijan. The Company has a 1,962 square
kilometre portfolio, assembled from analysis of historic Soviet
geological data and held under a Production Sharing Agreement
modelled on the Azeri oil industry.
The Company's main operating location is the Gedabek contract
area ("Gedabek") which is a 300 square kilometer area in the lesser
Caucasus mountains in western Azerbaijan. The Company developed
Azerbaijan's first operating gold/copper/silver mine at Gedabek
which commenced gold production in May 2009. Mining at Gedabek was
initially from its main open pit which is an open cast mine with a
series of interconnected pits. The Company also operates the high
grade Gadir underground mine which is co-located at the Gedabek
site, In September 2017, production commenced at the Ugur open pit
mine, a recently discovered gold ore deposit at Gedabek. The
Company has a second underground mine, Gosha, which is 50
kilometres from Gedabek. Ore mined at Gosha is processed at Anglo
Asian's Gedabek plant.
The Company produced 83,736 gold equivalent ounces ('GEOs') for
the year ended 31 December 2018. Gedabek is a polymetallic ore
deposit that has gold together with significant concentrations of
copper in the main open pit mine, and an oxide gold-rich zone at
Ugur. The Company therefore employs a series of flexible processing
routes to optimise metal recoveries and efficiencies. The Company
produces gold doré through agitation and heap leaching operations,
copper concentrate from its Sulphidisation, Acidification,
Recycling, and Thickening (SART) plant and also a copper and
precious metal concentrate from its flotation plant.
The Company has forecast production for FY 2019 of between
82,000 to 86,000 GEOs.
Anglo Asian is also actively seeking to exploit its first mover
advantage in Azerbaijan to identify additional projects, as well as
looking for other properties in order to fulfil its expansion
ambitions and become a mid-tier gold and copper metal production
company.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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